The actor is still facing six further charges of historic sex allegations

Coronation Street star Bill Roache was today cleared of one of the seven historic sex abuse charges he faces.

The actor stood in the dock as the jury found him not guilty of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl on the direction of the judge, Mr Justice Holroyde.

But Roache, 81, is still on trial for another alleged assault involving the same teenager, known only as Girl A.

He is also accused of indecently assaulting three other girls and twice raping another youngster, between 1965 and 1971, when they were all aged 16 or under.

Girl A had told the court Roache, who plays Ken Barlow in the soap, had made her perform a sex act on him with her hand in a toilet at Granada studios in 1965.

The woman, now 63, said he later sent her a letter signed “Love Bill x x” and claimed they met again when he gave her a lift in his car.

She said they parked up near a railway embankment and she believed another sexual incident had taken place, although she could not remember the details.

Neither could she recall the make of the car, other than it was “posher” than her father’s.

Anne Whyte QC, prosecuting, told the jury today: “We do not invite you to convict the defendant of any act for which a witness has no recollection.”

The judge then told the eight women and four men of the jury: “In relation to that episode the witness was not giving evidence that it did happen, she was giving evidence that she was thinking it did happen and that is not a sufficient evidential basis for the conviction of an offence.”

He added: “The prosecution are no longer pursuing the charge. That means that Mr Roache is entitled to and must have a not guilty verdict on that charge.”

He added: “I am directing you as a matter of law, you cannot and must not convict Mr Roache of count two and must find him not guilty of that count.”

The not guilty verdict came at the end of day nine of the trial at Preston crown court.

Tomorrow Roache’s defence on the remaining six charges is due to start.